Few aircraft of
the World War I period have received the attention given the Fokker Dr.I
triplane. Often linked with the career of the highest scoring ace of
that war, Germany's Rittmeister Manfred von Richthofen, "The Red
Baron," the nimble Dr. I
earned a reputation as one of the best "dogfighters" of the
war.
The Fokker Dr. I was ordered into production on
July 14, 1917, in response to the success earlier in that year of the
British Sopwith Triplane. The first Dr. Is appeared over the Western
Front in August, 1917. Pilots were impressed with its maneuverability,
and several, including von Richthofen, soon scored victories with the
highly maneuverable triplane. Nineteen of Richthofen's last 21 victories
were achieved while he was flying the Dr. I. Fokker built 320 Dr.
Is; for a brief period production was suspended while the wings were
redesigned to prevent in-flight failures. By May 1918 the Dr I was being
replaced by the newer and faster Fokker D VII.
No known original
Fokker Dr. Is have survived. The Air Force Museum in Dayton Ohio has a
reproduction painted to represent the aircraft flown by Lt. Arthur Rahn
in April 1918 when he served with Jagdstaffel 19. Rahn is credited
with six confirmed victories.